Furman, The Citadel Advance in Baseball Tourney

No. 8 seed Furman 6, No. 9 seed UNCG 5 (11 innings)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jordan Simpson’s RBI single to shallow center field capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the 11th inning as eighth-seeded Furman downed No. 9 seed UNCG 6-5 in the opening game of the 2014 Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Tuesday. The Paladins advance to face top-seeded Western Carolina in the double-elimination portion of the bracket at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Furman (24-31) was poised to take the win in regulation, carrying a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning, but the Spartans (21-28) scored a run in the top of the ninth to complete the comeback after trailing 4-0 after two innings. UNCG took its first lead of the game in the top of the 11th before the Paladins used three hits and two Spartan errors to walk off with the win in the bottom half.

After UNCG’s Eric Kalbfleisch lifted a sacrifice fly to right field in the top of the 11th inning to put the Spartans on top, Furman opened the bottom half with a single from Hunter Burton. A fielder’s choice bunt and error on the next play erased Burton and put Jake Jones at second, and Greg Harrison followed with a single up the middle to plate Jones with the tying run. Another UNCG error and a ground out later, Simpson brought in Harrison with the winning run, eliminating the Spartans from the tournament.

The Paladins bolted out of the gates in the early innings, plating three in the first and one in the second to race out to the 4-0 lead. In the first, Harrison singled through the right with one out to drive in Burton for the game’s first run, and after an error put runners at first and second, Alex Abrams laced a double to left-center to bring in Harrison. One out later, Chris Ohmstede came in from third on a wild pitch.

Furman added another run in the second inning. Cameron Whitehead led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice. Burton reached on a bunt single to put runners at the corners, and Jones reached on another infield single to drive in Whitehead.

The Spartans finally got their offense going in the top of the fourth to draw within a run. With two on and no one out, Hunter King singled up the middle to drive in Sean Guite. One out later, an error loaded the bases for Julian Abreu, who drew a four-pitch walk to force in a run. Jake Kusz followed with a four-pitch walk of his own to drive in another run and knock Furman starter Jacques de Gruy from the game. Reliever Elliott Warford stopped the bleeding, getting a strikeout and a ground out to escape the inning without further damage.

UNCG threatened again in the sixth, but Brant Masters relieved Warford with the bases loaded and induced a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the jam.

The Spartans pulled even in the top of the ninth, momentarily staving off elimination when King’s two-out single knocked in Zac MacAneney with the tying run. Kalbfleisch also tried to score on the play, but right fielder Jones threw him out at the plate to end the inning.

Burton and Harrison had three hits each for the Paladins, while Jones, Ohmstede, Abrams and Simpson had two apiece.

UNCG’s King finished with a game-high four hits, going 4-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs. MacAneney, Kalbfleisch and Jordan McDonald had two hits each.

The Paladins’ rally made a winner of Abrams (7-2), who blew the save in the ninth and was on the hook for the loss after UNCG’s go-ahead run in the top of the 11th. UNCG’s Adam Swim (4-2) took the loss after allowing an unearned run in a third of an inning. UNCG starter Max Povse went seven innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits.

 

No. 10 seed The Citadel 10, No. 7 seed Elon 7

 

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel rallied from an early 6-1 deficit to claim a 10-7 win over defending champion Elon in the single-elimination portion of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Tuesday. The 10^th-seeded Bulldogs advance to face No. 2 seed Davidson on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

 

Citadel closer Skylar Hunter worked three scoreless innings to lock up his 15^th save of the season, matching the Bulldogs’ single-season school record. He now has 28 for his career, good for a tie for fifth in league history in just his second season.

 

Elon (27-26) , the seventh seed, knocked out Citadel ace Logan Cribb in a six-run third inning to take a commanding lead, but the Bulldogs (24-32) answered with five of their own in the top of the fourth to knot things at 6. After the Phoenix reclaimed the lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth, The Citadel, playing as the visiting squad in its home park, scored four unanswered runs and turned the game over to Hunter for the win.

 

With The Citadel down 7-6 in the fifth, Bret Hines hit an RBI single to center to tie the game. After a walk put runners on first and second, Calvin Orth singled through the right side to put the Bulldogs ahead to stay. The Citadel padded its lead on a Johnathan Stokes sacrifice fly in the sixth and added an insurance run on another Orth RBI single in the top of the ninth.

 

Hunter did the rest, limiting Elon to just two hits and a walk over his three innings of work. He struck out two.

 

The Citadel led 1-0 on Bo Thompson’s RBI ground out in the first, but the Phoenix put together a big inning in the third to get into the Bulldogs’ bullpen. Tyler McVicar put Elon on top with a two-run single, and Nick Zammarelli followed with an RBI double of his own. Three batters later, Andy Moore rapped an RBI single to make it 5-1 and knock Cribb from the contest. Reliever Zach Sherrill induced an RBI fielder’s choice and a fly ball to end the frame.

 

The Bulldogs answered with a big inning of their own, scoring five runs in the top of the fourth to knock Elon starter Lucas Bakker from the contest. Two runs scored on Ryan Kilgallen’s infield single and an error on the play, and Orth singled up the middle to drive in Hines to make it 6-4. After a strikeout, Hughston Armstrong hit a two-run single to knot the contest at 6 and end Bakker’s day. Phoenix reliever Matt Harris got Thompson to ground out to second to stop the bleeding.

 

Elon went back on top in the bottom of the frame on SoCon Player of the Year Casey Jones’ home run to right, but The Citadel reclaimed the lead for good in the top of the next inning.

 

Orth was 3-for-4 with three RBIs to pace The Citadel, which scored in double figures for the third straight game. Armstrong, Hines and Drew DeKerlegand had two hits each for the Bulldogs.

 

Quinn Bower had the lone multi-hit game for the Phoenix, as he was 2-for-5 with a run scored.

 

Bakker surrendered six runs on seven hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings, but Harris (3-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs on three hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings of work.

 

Cribb allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. Sherrill moved to 4-1 after 3 2/3 innings of effective relief, as he allowed a run on two hits and a walk, striking out four.